Will making WA's freight network public be cost-effective?

Twenty-six years after Western Australia's freight rail network was privatised, the WA government is finally making headway on its plan to buy it back.

The Cook Labor government introduced a bill into parliament earlier this week that, if passed, will establish a legal framework to bring the network back under state control.

But the road to public ownership is paved with obstacles, from stark warnings about the cost to concerns about government involvement in a complex commercial supply chain.

Here's what a state-owned freight rail network could mean for Western Australians.

What is the WA freight rail network?

Every year, millions of tonnes of grain and minerals travel across 5,500 kilometres of tracks, connecting the ports of Geraldton, Fremantle, Bunbury, Albany and Esperance with WA's mining and agricultural regions.

But since 2000, when a Liberal-National government sold off the operation and leased the underlying network under a 49-year lease, it has been in private hands — a sale driven largely by the rail system's mounting debt.

At the time, the former transport minister Murray Criddle said the privatisation of the line would deliver a world-class, competitive rail freight service to WA.

"The new operator will help keep downward pressure on freight rates, improve service delivery and to get more freight off road and onto rail," Mr Criddle said.

Currently operated by Arc Infrastructure, the government is now in commercial negotiations with parent company Brookfield to buy it back.

Why buy it back?

It's a valid question, and one dividing industry.

The state government has said greater public control would allow for more targeted investment and increased use of the freight network.

"It will mean more regional jobs, better support for our farmers and families, and less trucks on our regional roads,"

Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said.

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union has welcomed the move.

"Public ownership means taxpayer dollars are reinvested into local services rather than being siphoned off as private corporate profits," WA branch secretary Josh Dekuyer said.

One of the main drivers is the push to reopen the Tier 3 rail lines, which were controversially closed in 2014.

In Bruce Rock, 240 kilometres east of Perth, farmer Jane Fuchsbichler said her operations were affected.

She said the closure of more than 500km of track resulted in more trucks on the road.

"We can't continue with the present situation, local governments are getting a lot of extra challenges because of the increase in trucks and the road toll is increasing," she said.

The move to regain public control of the network has also been welcomed by the state's largest grain handler, CBH Group, which hopes a government buyback will help the infrastructure keep pace with skyrocketing production.

In the Goldfields, a government takeover of the network is seen as the only realistic path forward for decade-old plans to realign the existing railway around Kalgoorlie-Boulder's Super Pit gold mine and to develop an intermodal transport facility, akin to an inland port.

What could go wrong?

The Tier 3 line is not in working condition, with farmers saying the tracks are overgrown with trees up to 3 metres tall and sleepers severely deteriorated.

The government has been vague on the cost, but an independent engineering report from 2020 said it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to bring the line back into operation.

That's on top of the sale itself, which the government has also been vague about: a "significant investment" in the words of the transport minister.

Former Pastoralists and Graziers Association president Tony Seabrook estimates the figure to be in the "billions".

"The state government is very reluctant to put a figure around it," he said.

"Anecdotally, I've heard in the billions, and I'd say it's going to be incredibly expensive, and probably prohibitive."

The government had commissioned a detailed business case from Deloitte on the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Super Pit realignment last year, but it was never made public.

Mr Seabrook is also concerned that more government control could mean more bureaucracy.

"I'd be very wary of this falling into the hands of government; we've seen what happened with the lamb industry when government took control of that," he told the ABC.

What happens now?

While the passage of the Rail Freight System Bill 2026 through WA parliament is a necessary legal step for returning the network to public ownership, the government still needs to prove the purchase would be economically and financially responsible.

As for support from the Coalition, the leader of the WA Nationals Party Shane Love has welcomed the announcement but called for greater transparency.

Shadow transport minister Steve Martin has echoed the sentiment, telling the ABC more details of the deal, in particular the cost, were needed before the party "could fully assess the proposal".

The state government said should there be a transaction, there would be minimal disruption to Arc's customers and staff.